The present invention relates to interactive tools for assisting in estate planning, such as assisting in estate planning professionals in performing activities such as marketing estate planning services to new or existing clients, managing client relationships, and prospecting for new clients. The clients or prospective clients can for example be the affluent or the super-affluent, and generally have an estate worth at least $10,000,000 in today's dollars.
Current tax law provides that for a legacy today of more than $2,000,000 to anyone other than your spouse, even to your children, the marginal federal estate tax rate can range from 43% to 48%. The legacy or estate is the total of a home, a retirement plan and life insurance, and as such an estate's value can easily exceed that number. In addition, many states now have separate taxation due upon death. The primary purpose of estate planning is to ensure an orderly transfer of property to the heirs. Without a strategy to accomplish this, heirs might encounter problems, such as, an inappropriate distribution of the estate, the care for minor children can be left in the hands of a court, settlement costs and administrative fees that deplete the value of one's estate etc. A common error people make is to assume that estate planning only refers to dying. In fact, an important part of estate planning is to take the appropriate steps to ensure management of one's financial affairs if one becomes disabled or terminally ill. Current tax laws also provide for giving gifts, either to loved ones or to a charity. Currently a gift of $13,000 per year can be provided per beneficiary without tax consequences. The giving of gifts can be an important strategy for maximizing the estate. Charitable giving techniques can potentially eliminate capital gains taxes and/or lower income and estate taxes.
Known software applications for estate planning professionals do not provide adequate support for a broad range of activities or services that are needed by estate planning professionals. For example, such known software applications are inadequate in meeting the needs of professionals in areas such as interactive estate planning reports, various trust vehicles, interactive estate calculators, client data gathering tools, automatic configuration based on client data, among others. In addition, the information, processes, vehicles or analysis of estate planning can be highly complex and difficult to analyze, when seen in the context of real life information. As such, a need exists for improved software and system solutions in the estate planning field.